Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à trois étoiles d'arg.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Zinter family of Netherlands.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à trois étoiles d'arg.”

The Zinter arms were recorded in Netherlands, c. 1815.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Friesland.
Friesland was low, wet country on the northern coast of the Netherlands, farmed by families who had held the same land for centuries. Free landholders were unusually common there, and a free landholder could carry arms.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
In the Netherlands, coats of arms were often used by noble families and those who held specific public offices. These arms were passed down through the generations to legitimate descendants. Younger branches of a family usually kept the original design without needing to add special marks. This system ensured that the family identity remained clear and consistent over many years.
The Zinter family name has deep roots in the coastal region of Friesland, where records confirm their presence by the year 1815. During this period, the name likely emerged as a localized variation of names common to the northern Netherlands and the surrounding Germanic territories. Families in this region often lived in close-knit agricultural communities, where their daily lives were shaped by the challenging landscape of the North Sea coast. Because Friesland was a hub for maritime trade and farming, the Zinter ancestors were likely involved in these essential industries. Over time, the family name became a way to identify these individuals as they navigated the social and economic changes occurring across the Dutch provinces during the early nineteenth century.
Derived from the Middle Dutch word for saint or holy person.
